Catalyst Communities are a signature experience for first-year students in the David. C. Frederick Honors College, bringing together Frederick Honors students from across schools and majors to investigate some of the biggest problems and questions facing our society.
As a member of a Catalyst Community, students can learn from their peers, study with Frederick Honors electus faculty, and apply what they learn in the classroom to local and global communities.
In the fall, students enroll in a one-credit “Introduction to Frederick Honors” course and meet weekly with FHC staff, students, and community partners to get oriented to FHC and breadth of experiences available. In the spring, the group continues learning together in a project-based course led by Frederick Honors electus faculty, allowing them to integrate classroom, co-curricular, community, and global learning.
What Makes a Catalyst Community?
Each Catalyst Community explores a different topic, but they all include the following:
A Community Navigator
Community navigators are Frederick Honors electus faculty, experts in their field, and champions of Honors education. Community navigators are an additional level of support in students’ first years as they begin their academic exploration.
Introduction to Frederick Honors
This 1-credit, fall term course offers first-year students a structured way to begin exploring all that Frederick Honors has to offer. Students learn how to get started with community-engaged and global learning; national and international scholarships and fellowships; social innovation; and research.
First-year Catalyst Scholars also have access to exclusive Civic Chats, where local community leaders from the Pittsburgh area give insights into their work on the topic of the community.
We bring all of these aspects together through intentional reflection and resume building, helping students begin to chart their path at Pitt and beyond.
Catalyst Community Spring Course
Led by the Community Navigator, students enroll in this three-credit, project-based course that dives deeper into the community’s theme and embraces applied learning. Applied learning means that in addition to time spent in the classroom, students will be immersed in community-engaged learning projects throughout the Pittsburgh region.
Curated Events and Experiences
The Frederick Honors Outside the Classroom Curriculum includes hundreds of events each year that feature hands-on experiences and opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. Working with Community Navigators, students will begin to build a cohesive set of experiences that deepen learning while helping to fulfill the Honors OCC requirement for graduation.
Peer Mentors
Peer Mentors are upper-division students who share similar academic interests in the community theme and want to help first-year students make the most out of their time at Frederick and Pitt. These peer mentors work exclusively with Catalyst Community students.
Preference for a Summer Global Learning Experience
By participating in a Catalyst Community, Catalyst Scholars are given priority* during application review for any of our Frederick Signature Global Programs after their first year.
*Students must meet all of the eligibility criteria for the program of their choice and complete the application by the deadline.
2025-2026 Catalyst Community: Health for All: Building Bridges through Community-Engaged Learning
Led by Dr. Gretchen White (Public Health), the 2025-2026 Catalyst Community focuses on a comprehensive study of health disparities and evidence-based practices in health promotion and disease prevention.
The spring project-based course will emphasize the importance of community engagement, cultural competence, and ethical considerations in health research and practice. Students will learn how to conduct needs assessments, develop intervention strategies, communicate health information, and evaluate the effectiveness of health initiatives. Theoretical knowledge and practical application will converge in a community-based project where you will collaborate with local organizations, agencies, and partners to develop and execute a health-related intervention in the Pittsburgh area.
By the end of the year, students will have gained valuable skills in project management, data analysis, communication, and collaboration, while making a tangible, positive impact on the health and well-being of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Gretchen White
Dr. Gretchen White is an assistant professor of medicine in the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine and a faculty electus fellow in the David C. Frederick Honors College. She also has secondary appointments in epidemiology within the School of Public Health and in clinical and translational science at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. White is a dedicated teacher, devoted mentor, and diligent researcher who is passionate about creating educational and career opportunities for everyone. She teaches a number of undergraduate and graduate level courses and is a mentor on four NIH-funded career-development awards and for numerous Pitt students. As a methodologist, Dr. White collaborates on research across disciplines and has developed expertise in distinct content areas such as occupational lung disease; obesity, bariatric surgery, alcohol use, and biomedical research career development. Dr. White is currently MPI on a randomized control trial across 30 academic medical centers and co-investigator on many other research studies. She has published over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals such as Annals of Surgery, Obesity, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, JAMA Network Open, and Academic Medicine.
White began her public health career as an Association of the Schools of Public Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ASPH/CDC) Public Health Fellow where she trained in Epidemiology and Surveillance. She then assumed the position of Associate Service Fellow at the CDC where she conducted national asthma surveillance and coordinated data collection and health communication across state and local health departments. She has been Pitt faculty since 2020. She received her MPH from Drexel University and her PhD from University of Pittsburgh.
How to Apply
Catalyst Communities are limited to students entering their first year at the University of Pittsburgh and David C. Frederick Honors College.
Submit your application here no later than July 20.
To be eligible to apply, you must:
Be available Tuesdays from 4 to 4:50 p.m. in the fall term for the Introduction to Frederick Honors Course
Currently be enrolled in 17 or less credits for the fall term
Commit to enrolling in the 3-credit project-based course in the spring term
We encourage students from all academic backgrounds and interests to apply! If we receive more applications than placements available, we will review applications for academic interest and alignment and work to build a community of students from different majors and academic backgrounds.